Hey everyone, looking for some input / advice here.
First off, my FICO scores are bad. 534, 537, and 547, respectively. I've started taking steps in the right directon, but know having strong scores is years away. That doesn't help me right now, as I'm looking to rent an apartment by March 1st.
I don't have any evictions or judgements, fortunately, but how should I tackle this score issue? My income is actually pretty good (this was part of the reason I got into credit trouble, was a lack of income about 1.5 years ago) - I currently make about $6,000.00 a month net. I'm hoping that will convince a prospective landlord or rental to look past the poor scores.
I mainly want to avoid having to pay 1st, last, and 1 month security deposit, for the simple fact that I'd like to have some furnishings when I move in 
Do I have any chance of being treated like a "normal," applicant?
TBH the more you offer in cash up front the more likely they will overlook any credit issue. Be friendly and personable, and explain the issues if they ask, and if they want said first / last / security deposit (which I think depends on state of residence) simply hand over a check. Every apartment I rented did this even when they weren't pulling credit back when I lived in Texas, Cali when I moved here they pulled credit but was first / security deposit and my report was ugly ugly but apparently the manager figured I was a decent person anyway, hah, bonus.
Sadly there's no real way around it on short notice, your credit score / report is what it is, and while they can (and should) be worked on with time, it's going to be hard to make meaningful steps pre-march other than if you can GW or PFD some of the derogatories off. Check the Rebuilding board for more information on that.
